Again
by Cindelina
Summary: One day, Ritsu wakes up in his teenage body. So does Masamune, but Ritsu doesn't know that.
1. Fall

Ritsu was pissed. Pissed beyond all hell. So what he made a little mistake? It didn't give him the right to cuss him out in front of the rest of the editorial department. Ritsu was stressed and irritable and for the first time since he'd arrived at Marukawa, felt as if he wanted to cry. By no means was Ritsu a sensitive man, it was the result of the buildup of stress and lack of sleep that came with the end of the cycle. He splashed his face with cold water to get rid of the redness and promptly returned to his section of the office, ignoring Takano as he brushed past him. Nobody looked at him strangely, they were too busy with their own work. Ritsu was grateful for that, and went back to his work after a few minutes.

The last two days melted into each other and the office was finally at peace once 5am passed. Ritsu looked around the office - he wasn't the last one left (Mino was still there), but he would soon be if he did not leave. He was glad to see Takano gone. The last two days had been filled with ignoring Takano as much as possible while still completing his work. It would have just been awkward between the two.

"I'll be leaving first…" he mumbled out of habit, trying not to trip over the bodies of his co-workers on his way out. Because the office officially opens at 8am, the elevators were not working and Ritsu had no choice but to take the stairs. His footsteps echoed as he climbed down each stair. Had Ritsu been fully awake, he would not have missed a step. Had Ritsu been fully awake, he would not have missed the sound of the other footsteps in the room. Ritsu didn't realise he was falling until he saw Takano rushing to catch him. Unfortunately for the both of them, Takano was not able to handle the force of a grown man thrown at him. Takano tried to catch Ritsu, and Ritsu tried to push Takano away. He was still a bit annoyed as to what happened a few days ago and felt uncomfortable that he had to be helped.

The angle at which Ritsu pushed Takano resulted in Ritsu banging his head against the padded walls. It wasn't bad enough for Ritsu to fracture his skull, but bad enough for everything to turn black. He faintly heard Takano yelling for help, but that was all he could remember.

Ritsu woke up to a woman hovering over him and pulling off his blankets.

"Ritsu! It's already Thursday! Get up!"

Was that his mum?  
"Mum?" he said, shocked. Did his mother really come all this way to tell him not to be late for work? Sure, the gesture was nice but Ritsu swore he was only knocked out for a few moments and would wake up in the office building.

"Why are you so shocked to see me? Get up!" she said, leaving his door wide open.

"Mum! You can't treat the sick like that." Ritsu muttered under his breath. It was only then that he realised something was amiss. What kind of hospital room was surrounded by desks, books, and posters? He tossed his blankets away and sat there, stunned. There was his clock from when he was a teenager. There were textbooks that he had in high school. There were library books that had a note that said 'senpai'. There was his school uniform hanging over his chair. And lastly, there was his reflection staring back at him. A much younger and innocent face looked back at him.

It was only then that he realised. He was 15 again.

A quick glance at his calendar told him that today was the day he confessed to 'Saga senpai'.


	2. Memory

He couldn't skip school or pretend to be sick. He needed a day or two to get back into the swing of 'high-school life' and to begin thinking of plausible reasons as to why he was fifteen again. Unluckily for Ritsu, there was a voice from downstairs, calling for him.

"Ritsu! You better hurry up - An is waiting for you!"

Ah, yes. There was the issue with An. He had almost forgotten about their marriage ever since An had decided to call it off. But that was in the present - this was ten years ago. Maybe this was a chance to set things right - maybe this was a chance for him to change how his future planned out. A Takano and arranged marriage-free future. Yes, that was what he wanted. To get this plan off of a good start, Ritsu hastily arranged his school bag for the first time in seven years.

Just before he left his room, his eyes fell on the pile of library books. A sticky note rested on top, with 'Saga-senpai' scrawled onto it. He couldn't help but flip through them, trying to remember just what about Takano he fell in love with. A pang of guilt hit him as he remembered wishing for a future without Takano. Despite his harsh words (and hits with rolls of paper), he knew just how much Takano looked out for him. The influence that Takano's words and actions had on him made him a bit uneasy though, he thought as he reached the back cover of the book. It wasn't until he scanned through the names of the previous borrowers that he realised something was amiss. The book was due yesterday. The choice was his - to possibly run into his future boss or to be charged 50 yen. Still deciding whether or not to return the book, a voice he hadn't heard in months came from downstairs.

"Ritsu!"

"I'm coming!"

He took the book with him.

 **OoOoOoOOoOoOoOOoOoOoOOoOoOoO**

An grinned sheepishly beside Ritsu as they walked together.

"Did something good happen?" he asked, hoping it wasn't her birthday or something.

"It's just that you managed to get out of bed on time. I'm proud, Ricchan!"

"Uh, yeah. Thanks." he replied, unsure of how to answer.

"Did something bad happen, then?" An asked, eyebrows furrowed with worry.

Ritsu was confused at reaction, then realised just how happy-go-lucky he was in high school before he became a dull adult. How exactly did he act during his teenage years? He couldn't remember too much.

"No. It's just that I'm tired because I got up early." Nice save, Onodera, he thought to himself.

"Hmm." An hummed, before deciding to grab Ritsu's wrist. "We're going to be late. I have an assignment to hand in this morning.

"Wh-" was all Ritsu managed to blurt out before An dragged him along. "A-an, what are you doing? There are people outside!"

She paid no heed to his complaints, and just as Ritsu was going to shake her off, he made eye contact for a split second with a familiar face.

Black shaggy hair.  
A bored gaze.  
And those brown eyes he knew too well.

In no universe would Ritsu not recognise those eyes. A lump in his throat appeared and embarrassment tinged his cheeks. Not because he was lovestruck, but because of how happy Ritsu was to see him. The past few days, Ritsu had been avoiding this man but now he had to reason to. The truth is, his anger towards Takano had already disappeared an hour after his criticising him. He had only kept up that facade because he knew he wouldn't be able to keep up with his work with Takano hovering over him, sexual or otherwise.

They stared at each other for what felt like hours, when in reality only two seconds had passed. An's fervent tugs dragged Ritsu away and their eye contact broke, and so did An's heart.

 **OoOoOoOOoOoOoOOoOoOoOOoOoOoO**

Ritsu remembered this day all too well, no matter how hard he had tried to forget. He had an overdue book in the morning, and An picked him up. He had a surprise English test (which he had gotten 3/100 for) and received back his poetry from Japanese class. He didn't have lunch because he had forgotten his lunch money and had to mooch off of his classmates.

But after school was what he had remembered the most. He went into the library to return his book and search for Takano, or rather, Saga. There had been this book he had especially been looking forward to reading after he saw it in a magazine. The library was empty, except for the two of them. The small library was such an unused place at their school, with most people only coming in there to skip class, almost none here for leisure. Ritsu looked at his surroundings. It was exactly how he remembered it, not that he expected it to be any different. It was on the third row of shelves, at the top, where their fingers had brushed, where Ritsu confessed his love. Ritsu was living this memory again. His feet forced him to that shelf again, and his fingers forced themselves to that same book. Just as he had hoped, another hand met his. The hand that belonged to his first love. Maybe this was a chance for him to start again. He truly hoped so.

"T-Saga senpai…"  
A pause, almost if the elder had to remember how to reply.  
"How do you know who I am?"

Ritsu had to think how to reply. Would this work a second time? He was more straightforward when he was younger. He can't force himself to confess so suddenly and honestly like he did in the past. It was just too embarrassing.

"Because I…"

He couldn't finish the answer that this Saga wanted to hear.

"You what?"

No, he really couldn't.

"If you don't reply, I'll just report you for stalking." Saga said.

Ritsu felt a small twinge of anger. This was something that Takano would do. Was Takano really this twisted when he was younger? Saga began to walk away. "Teach…" he called out.

Oh crap. He was going to get in trouble. "W-wait! Stop!" Ritsu was drawn towards Saga. "It's because I've been in love with you for the past few years!"

He felt the heat crawling up his neck after realising what he had just said. "I'm so sorry… I- I- I'll leave now." Confessing was even harder the second time.

But the memory played out exactly how he remembered it. His senpai not saying a single word, only ruffling his hair, as if to reassure him.


	3. Spring

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. But I'm back.

The next few days passed with nothing in particular happening. Ritsu only saw Saga a few times after that confession where he promptly ran away once he realised just how embarrassed he was.

It also happened to be a Thursday when Ritsu confessed. Ritsu also remembered that he was younger than Saga. While that meant nearly nothing in the workforce, during his school years, it meant everything. It was hard to find an opening - Saga was fairly popular. Girls loved that cold aloof bad boy look and they often swarmed around him during breaks. He couldn't help but get jealous, knowing that Takano had dated girls before. He didn't get a chance to talk to Saga on Friday, to confirm if they were going out or if Saga just pitied his poor underclassman.

It was Sunday morning and Ritsu felt very impatient - he wouldn't admit it but he was starting to miss Saga. He didn't have his landline number, or address. It was only then that he realised he hadn't gone a single day in the past couple of months without talking to Takano, younger or older version. His homework lay neglected on his desk as he rolled around on his bed. What the hell did he do as a fifteen year old? It felt like he had a lot of free time compared to now (or the future). He'd already read all the books in his room, many of which did not deserve a second read. Maybe he should go buy some shoujo manga. It would be good practice for the future. Yeah, a future in ten years, he thought to himself. Plus, his parents would probably think there was something wrong with their fifteen year old son if he went out and bought questionable numbers of shoujo manga. While his sheets were messed up from his boredom, his mother called to him.

"Ritsu! Your friend's here! Take him to your room!"

What? Ritsu quickly ran downstairs.

"When did you make such a handsome friend? Why did you not tell me about him?"

Saga smiled his prince-like smile, the one he used specifically to sway women.

"No, no, you're too kind." he laughed.

"Show him some hospitality, take him to your room, Ritsu - I'm so sorry, I hope my son hasn't caused you any trouble!"

"Of course not - it's my fault for dropping by unexpectedly."

Ritsu flushed slightly and managed to drag Saga away from his mother. He led him to his room, which was quite messy - books everywhere and an unmade bed. Ritsu's face turned redder once he remembered what they would do in that same bed a few weeks later.

"So um… Saga-senpai, why are you here?" he finally said to break the silence. More like, how did he know where he lived? Was it the library records?

"We're officially going out, right? It feels weird if I don't see you for a couple of days."

"But how do you know where I live?" He tried his best to ignore the slightly embarrassing statement.

"The library told me."

Did the library just hand out personal information without a thought?

"Oh.", was all Ritsu could say. It became silent again. Ritsu couldn't remember exactly how he acted when he was younger. Did he talk a lot? Or was he silent? He would have tried to impress Saga, but how? It wasn't easy to remember when he spent a fair amount of his college years trying his hardest to forget this part of his life.

All he could remember was them talking about books. This was about the time Usami Akihiko debuted so he could talk about him, but he was afraid he would slip up and accidentally mention spoilers for books being released in the next ten or so years. But he had to go for it - it was a second chance to build up his relationship with Saga again and set things right.

He opened his mouth, but a soft knock came from the door.

"Ritsu, I've brought some tea and snacks for your handsome friend!"

"O-oh, thanks mum."

"Thank you, Mrs Onodera."

"Anything for you, Saga-kun!"

"Mum, why is there only one cup of tea." It wasn't really poised as a question.

"You can make your own tea."

"Oh."

She promptly left the room after setting down the tray with one cup and a bowl of crackers. The door shut with a soft thud and silence filled the room once again. Ritsu shifted a bit in his seat awkwardly, before the silence was broken by the sound of Saga purposely slurping the tea loudly.

 _Sluuurp._

"Um, Senpai - "

 _Sluuuurp._

"I'd really appreciate if-"

 _Sluuuuuuuuuuurp._

"-you'd just stop-"

 _Sluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurp._

"MAKING SUCH LOUD NOI-"

This time, he wasn't interrupted by the sound of Saga slurping the tea. There was a small clink as the teacup was dropped on the tray, and a small rustle of clothing.

It felt as if it had happened in slow motion. Ritsu froze and tensed up as he saw the older's face come closer, but relaxed into the kiss as their lips met. Had this been one of the shoujo manga Ritsu had been editing, he was sure that the window that was definitely closed before would let a gust of air in, bringing some cherry blossoms in, even though it was most definitely not spring and that their hair would blow is all sorts of crazy directions.

However, it wasn't and Ritsu only lost himself in what was most likely his first kiss. His lips felt so familiar and foreign at the same time, but those thoughts went by in a flash.

He was too distracted to realise that Saga called his mother Onodera, that his mother was asking him is he wanted tea from downstairs, that Saga kissed him the same way that Takano had, that the window was in fact open, that the last cherry blossom of his fifteenth spring landed on Saga's cheek, that Takano was here with him.


End file.
